Premier lays out guidelines for attracting more overseas investment

2017/12/05 16:34:15

Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) Premier Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Tuesday that the government must focus its efforts on attracting more foreign investment by relaxing the relevant regulations, promoting industrial innovation and upgrading domestic industries.

At an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue, the premier noted that the Ministry of Economic Affairs is in the process of drafting amendments to the Statute for Investment by Overseas Chinese and the Statute for Investment by Foreign Nationals, according to a Cabinet spokesman.

Lai then called for an expedited and transparent amendment of the laws, which he said would simplify the application process for foreign direct investment (FDI) by overseas Chinese and foreign nationals, Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.

Lai also said that in this era of artificial intelligence, Taiwan should use its high-caliber talent and its advantage as a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse to promote greater innovation in industries such as smart medical care and smart transportation, according to Hsu.

Taiwan also needs to build a stronger link between foreign investment and its domestic industries by seeking to attract investment in areas that would upgrade such industries, raise the country's technological standards and create employment, Lai said at the meeting.

It was the fifth in a series of inter-ministerial meetings aimed at attracting more investment in Taiwan by removing barriers and creating a healthy investment environment.